"Drug busts like these are mounting around the nation, but they are just a small fraction of what's estimated to be a record-breaking surge in the supply of cocaine. In their most recent annual World Report, the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime found that, after a decade of rapid growth, "Global cocaine production has hit an all-time high once again, accompanied by significant increases in cocaine seizures, cocaine users and most tragically cocaine-related deaths in many countries.""
"The drug was still popular in certain places, but it was also something of a relic, associated more with discos in the 1970s and Wall Street in the 1980s. Du and the other economists suggest that at least part of cocaine's decline was the result of fierce supply-side interventions in Colombia. With significant U.S. involvement, Colombia "waged an aggressive campaign against the plantation of coca, the raw plant used to make cocaine," they write."
A routine traffic stop in Upland, California uncovered about 66 pounds of cocaine hidden in a vehicle. Global cocaine production has hit an all-time high, accompanied by significant increases in seizures, users, and cocaine-related deaths in many countries. A decade ago, aggressive supply-side interventions reduced coca cultivation in Colombia, shrinking fields from about 168,000 hectares in 2000 to just 48,000 by 2013. With significant U.S. involvement, Colombia waged an aggressive campaign against coca plantations. After a period of decline, the supply has rebounded rapidly, driving larger seizures and worsening overdose harms, including in the United States.
Read at www.npr.org
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